Bi-Polar PCer

All information, from any source, is suspect.
However many make decisions and take actions based on
their intuitions, assumptions, or unvarified external "input".

As in:
"We don't know what it is, but we're sure gonna' [try to] kill it!"

 

Yes, and that's sorta scary and liberating at the same time. Scary for my kids when they expect me to give them THE one true answer to their homework questions, and I give them theories and possibilities instead.

Yet also liberating, in that we're free to create something new instead of following somebody else.

 

With each advanced degree you learn more and more about less and less. When you finally get your doctorate you know everything about nothing.

 

in graphical form:

 

Re: Bi-Polar PCer - now way off-topic

This applies to technical areas with which I am familar. I have come to this cynical conclusion on occasion, but in the US, many new PhDs go into industry and will work on different research from day one. How well they work out greatly depends on the kind of program and the advisor's practice in producing graduates. The worst advisors give detailed instructions to a student to get work done that fits into a big research picture that the student is not required to understand, with a prize at the end. I have declined to hire these graduates. The best advisors require students to do the opposite, and require students to learn how to carry on more independent research. These turn into excellent, flexible researchers who continue the best practices with their students, in turn.

Without disparaging any programs, I have observed a difference in breadth between the graduates of some British programs and those in the US. In Germany, PhD candidates are treated as assistant professors, with livable salaries, more responsibility in teaching, and more autonomy, resulting in capable graduates.

This is really off-topic !!!

 

Re: Bi-Polar PCer - now way off-topic

i had one of those phd advisors... she was so awesome... grad school was far harder for me than for some of my colleagues in other labs but i wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

and i STILL couldn't get an industry job!!! stupid economy.

 

Nice post and very true. Tks.

I do think though that there is a very valid place for 'IMO' or 'I think...'. These give a personal touch, a reality if you will, to a wide range of experiences. Each of us drives differently in different environments and different terrain. Each experience is individual and should result in a personal opinion.

My major beef with many posts on a variety of subjects on boards like these are statements of 'fact' which are actually only opinions. These statements lack the more humble disclaimers, 'IMO' or 'I believe that...'

 

I stay away from technical discussion since I started reading Bob's responces. Maybe my goal will be to intrepret them for the average layperson

After being here a while, I don't mind opinions and "I think" comments, but it does get old when.... (Oh, I forgot.I promised myself to keep my mouth shut about those)

 

There is a Chinese saying, the more you know then you know more that you don't know.

 

"I believe" comments have no place on this forum, but that's just my opinion.

Tom

 

Honestly David - your posts are generally so thoughtful and perceptive that I for one take no offense to your opinons or thoughts. I hope you do not self-censor your posts but keep on adding to the rich soup of this forum!

 

David, great post.

The day I stop learning new things is the day I die.

There are certain things and certain software systems that I am considered an expert on but I never call myself an expert, ever. I just don't use that term when talking about myself. I might say I have a great deal of experience with something at the most. I find there's always something new to learn an I enjoy finding it.

 

Hmmm. No one's called you on this, David.

You asked to have us tell you when you broke your own rule . . .

I really appreciate your post, and I agree with most of what you've said. Actually, the only place I'll really differ with you is on the question of offering an "in my opinion" statement. I believe these have value, because the qualifier lets the rest of us know the statement made is based either on limited experience or limited access to/knowledge of the "real" answer.

I would rather have opinions from a few PCers than the "facts" espoused by some.

Rokeby said it a bit better:

And I like the view expressed by DeadPhish, too:

 

I agree with all of the comments: opinions can be very useful. Even as a recognized expert in several areas, I often find that I can only offer an opinion. Some things are factual, others not so easy to prove. It's the fuzzy areas where we need opinions. For example, in my role as a school board member, I often seek legal opinions. They are called opinions because no one can say for certain how they will play out in court. Doctors have medical opinions. The world is too complex to work only with facts.

Tom

 

There also are places for opinions and suppositories . . .

(This really works better if the statement is accompanied by round glasses, bushy eyebrows and moustache, and a big cigar.)